Thursday, July 12, 2007

i set my alarm to wake me up gradually with music from my favorite local alt college station, WRFL. i catch the last few minutes of music before Democracy Now comes on, and they always play some terrific music, either familiar favorites that i can name in my half-awake sleepiness (those are the days that start off smoothly, with me rolling out of bed, seamlessly into the kitchen for a glass of juice and a bowl of cereal), or new, fantastic music i've never heard before. those are the days i jolt instantly awake, eyes open wide, jotting down lyrics in my brain so i can jump out of bed to skip over to the computer and look up snippets of lyrics (these are the days i eat toasted grainy breads with slabs of cheese and salami, drinking herbal tea)

on days like the latter - such as today - everything seems new. i hear the opening riff to Beck's "Lost Cause" in the moments before Amy Goodman and immediately try placing the voice that's singing to me. i never would have guessed Beck. i hop to the computer and conduct the search, wondering how i'd never heard this song before. another surprise: i already have the album in my collection (another one that slipped by without a careful listening). i wonder how i've never listened to Beck before. i'd always found his music average, not that compelling. but this morning has turned me on to it. as i write this, i've had Beck albums on loop for nearly a whole evening, pausing only to listen to some interspersed Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Jens Lekman.

among other surprises: i wear loose faded jeans on a hot summer day. i listen to a new/old mix tape from a friend (another one that slipped by). i paint my nails bright mango yellow. i learn new guitar chords by playing thru "Suspicious Minds" and "Every Day Is Like Sunday," even singing a little.

and after a summer of inconquerable inertia: i pick up my thesis again.